


Page 23

by MackenzieW



Series: In Any Universe (OQ Prompt Party) [5]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Hopeful Ending, Meta, OQ Prompt Party 2018, Page 23
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-06 19:25:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14063844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MackenzieW/pseuds/MackenzieW
Summary: Roni makes a strange discovery in her storage room, one that leads her to a familiar story.





	Page 23

**Author's Note:**

> Based on Prompt #22: Page 23 showing up out of nowhere.
> 
> Apologies to Henry for getting all my pent up frustration at the OQ directed at him as the Adam and Eddy stand in.

Roni discovered it one day when she was unloading a new shipment of whiskey. As she took out the bottles and sorted through the packing material that filled the box to prevent any breakage, she spotted something stuck to the bottom of the carton. She frowned, pulling the piece of paper out. It didn't feel like a shipping manifest or a receipt, having a glossier feel—almost like something out of a picture book. Packing peanuts fell away as she left the paper out and her eyes widened.

It looked like something out of Henry's storybook, a beautiful picture set in what appeared to be a pub. A handsome young man with blond hair and matching scruff stood there in a long-sleeved, white linen shirt and brown pants. His head was bowed, lips so close to touching those of the young woman in the picture. She wore a beautiful white gown that Roni believed was silk and was embellished with diamonds and other jewels. Her dark hair was loose, falling in soft curls over her shoulders. While his simple outfit looked appropriate for a pub, she stuck out like a sore thumb. Yet that wasn't what concerned Roni the most.

What concerned her was the fact the young woman looked just like her.

She carried it out of the backroom, trying to figure out why some woman in a drawing looked just like her. Roni turned it over and there was writing on it, but it was written in a fancy font that mimicked script so she couldn't quite make it out. It was definitely something from a book so she knew who she had to ask about it.

And he was sitting at her bar, sipping at a nice cold beer.

Roni slammed down the paper, narrowing her eyes at the young man with messy brown hair and soulful hazel eyes. "Care to explain this?"

Henry set down his beer as he frowned, brows knitting together as he picked up the page. "This looks like something from my book."

"Exactly what I thought," she replied, letting her annoyance seep into her voice. "I know Lucy thinks we're all characters in your book, but this is ridiculous. Did you just do this or am I expected to believe you really just happened to draw a character who looks just like me?"

"I didn't draw this," Henry protested, placing the picture down.

She tilted her head. "I thought you wrote and illustrated the book?"

"I did," he replied, "but this is not something I wrote or draw. It's not anything in my book."

"So there isn't a character that looks like me in your book?" she asked, starting to feel a bit of relief. Lucy's idea that they were all cursed and had lives they had forgotten about made her uncomfortable. How could it be that she wasn't always Roni Jett, wild child, rocker and bar owner? If she wasn't in Henry's book, then all her memories and her identity were real.

Henry, though, grew quiet before pulling out a copy of his book. He opened it and slid the book toward her. "Actually, there is."

She picked up the book and her heart sank. On the page he had opened to was a picture of a woman who looked just like her dressed in a long black jacket with a long flowing train and pointed sleeves. It was shorter in the front, buttoned over a leather bodice and black leather pants. Her long dark hair was pulled into a high ponytail that flowed down the side of her head and had an elaborate black headpiece holding it up, a lacy design covering her forehead. Her makeup was dark and bold and the woman smirked at the reader, a regal aura of confidence radiating off the page.

However, her anger spiked again when she read the accompanying paragraph:

_As the bishop was about to declare Snow White and Prince Charming husband and wife, the doors were thrown open and the sound of them hitting the walls echoed around the Great Hall. Everyone turned to see who had interrupted the wedding and gasped as the Evil Queen strode into the room. Charming pulled Snow closer as several guards pulled out their swords. The Evil Queen just smiled and said: "Sorry I'm late."_

"The Evil Queen?" Roni shrieked, glad Henry was the only one in the bar at the moment. "Lucy thinks I'm the Evil Queen?"

Henry took a sip as he shrugged with one of his shoulders. As he set the bottle down, he replied: "I know it sounds bad, but honestly, if she does think you're the Evil Queen, then you should be honored."

"Honored?" she asked, incredulous. "How?"

"The Evil Queen is actually the hero of the story. In the end, she saves everyone—but Henry…me…most of all," he said, smiling. "She adopted me in the story and gave me a great childhood. While we hit a rough patch, we eventually patched things up and came out stronger."

She raised her eyebrow. "Really? The Evil Queen did all that?"

"Yes, she did," he replied, smiling widely as his hazel eyes shone.

Roni pulled out the page she had found in her storage room and tapped her finger on the man in the picture. "Is he a character in your story?"

Henry nodded, picking up his beer. "That is Robin Hood, the Queen's soul mate."

"Robin Hood?" she asked, letting out a little laugh. "And the Evil Queen?"

"I know, but it worked. Trust me," Henry said. His brows knitted in confusion. "I don't get it, though. That's from the scene where Tinkerbell has led Regina to a tavern, telling her the man destined to be her soul mate is inside. But in my book, she doesn't go inside. She gets scared and decides to run back to her horrible life at the palace, learning magic from Rumpelstiltskin and continuing on her plan to get revenge on Snow White for her role in the death of her first love, Daniel."

Roni leaned against the counter, intrigued. "That's quite the story. Kind of a tragedy though."

He nodded. "Yeah. She might be the real hero but she goes through a lot in the story. But she's resilient."

"Sounds like it," she replied, thumbing the other pages of the book.

"Keep it," he told her, pushing the book even closer to her. "Give it a read. I think you'll like it but then again, I am biased."

She chuckled, closing the book and slipping it under the bar. "Maybe I will. But not now. Now, I need to get ready for the evening rush. You hanging around?"

Henry shook his head, sliding his empty beer bottle toward her. "I have to meet Detective Rogers to work more on the Eloise Gardiner case. We might be close to a breakthrough."

"I hope so," she said. "That man looks like he could use some good news."

"That would make two of us," Henry replied, sighing as he slid off the barstool. He shoulder his bag, looking sad and disappointed.

Roni's heart went out to him and she gave him a knowing look. "Trouble with Jacinda?"

"She's more focused on getting Lucy back, which I understand, but I don't get why she would need to push me away to do that. I just want to be her friend," he said.

She pressed her lips together as she leaned closer. "I've seen the way you look at her. You don't want to just be her friend. You need to give her time. Jacinda's been burnt before and is now scared."

"I've been burnt before too," he said, a hardness in his voice that immediately had Roni regretting her choice of words as she recalled how he lost his family. "And I'm scared too. I was just hoping we could be scared together."

"Don't give up hope. It'll happen when it happens," she told him, rubbing his arm. "It's all about timing."

An odd look came to his face and he chuckled. She tilted her head. "What? What did I say?"

"You'll get it once you read the book," he replied, stepping away from her. He gave her a little wave and thanked her again before leaving her bar.

Roni frowned, pulling out the book again. She stared at it, wondering if it really did hold all the answers they needed given how Henry and Lucy acted. Her answers, though, would have to wait until that night and she put it away as her night staff began to enter to clock in for their shifts.

She had work to do.

* * *

Roni loved owning her own bar. She didn't have to answer to anyone (except the health inspector and the liquor licensing commission) and wasn't stuck in some office job. Nor did she have to wear some stuffy pantsuit or worry about if her hair and makeup were professional enough. She was able to interact with the people in her neighborhood and served as a therapist of sorts, doling out advice and alcohol to her patrons.

One thing she didn't particularly love were the hours. She worked from late in the morning until the wee hours of the morning, sleeping in between. It left her precious few hours to devote to herself and she usually reserved them to try to work through all the shows she had saved on her DVR. But it seemed to be a small price to pay for living her dream.

The morning after discovering the strange page in her storage, Roni took her mug of extra strong coffee and curled up on her couch with Henry's book. She opened it and began to read the story that had entranced Lucy so much, quickly falling in love with the character who looked just like her—Regina.

By the time she needed to get ready to open the bar, Roni wasn't even halfway through Regina' story. Admittedly, she had had to stop several times to calm herself down as she had gotten worked up over the injustices thrust on the young woman and how similar their lives were. She had grown up with an overbearing and (literally) heartless mother who had her own agenda for Regina and cared little for her daughter's happiness, even going so far as to make Regina forget about her half-sister and sending the other girl away to an abusive adoptive father in a land full of people who distrusted her because of her magical abilities. Cora sounded a lot like Roni's mother, who had had grand plans for both her daughters and let it be known that both had failed her. At least Roni and Kelly had had each other, supporting each other through every fight with Mother until they both got out of her house and lived on her own.

A pang of guilt and pain hit Roni as she thought of her now estranged sister, gently running her fingers over the painting of Regina's half-sister Zelena—who looked exactly like Kelly did at that age. She longed to reach out to her sister and try to make amends but she doubted her sister would forgive her. It was probably best to wait to see if Kelly ever reached out to her to mend their relationship.

Pushing the distressing thoughts of her sister aside, Roni moved on and followed young Regina as she fell in love with the stable boy, Daniel. She knew that romance was doomed even before she reached the part where Regina saved the young princess, Snow White, and received a proposal of marriage from her grateful and widowed father, King Leopold. Roni wanted to climb into the storybook and pluck Cora's eyes out when the woman accepted the proposal on Regina's behalf, forcing the young woman into a marriage with a man twice her age. She then also wanted to slap Snow White a few times when the young girl fell for Cora's manipulation and revealed Regina's plan to run away with Daniel.

Roni had to pause after Cora crushed Daniel's heart and Regina's dreams, going back to the kitchen to refresh her coffee as tears ran down her face. She didn't think she'd ever be one to cry over a fictional character, yet here she was. It wasn't fair that such a good and loving character met such an awful fate and that Cora had killed her daughter's first love in front of her. No wonder Regina was on the path to becoming the Evil Queen—Roni would want to avenge her love's death if it were her.

Of course, once upon a time, it had been her. She had had someone like Daniel—a fresh-faced college coed named Michael, who had shown her what real love looked like. He had supported her dreams, even if they meant dropping out of college to pursue a more bohemian lifestyle. Michael had never tried to change her and promised to always be by her side. He kept that promise until the day he was mugged on his way home from work. While he had been cooperating with the muggers, one was a scared kid who ended up shooting him accidentally. The shot was fatal, though, and Roni's love was taken from her. The muggers were convicted and imprisoned, so she got the justice Regina was denied, but she could still understand Regina's pain very well.

Glancing at the clock, she realized it was time to get ready and head down to her bar. She was going to have to splash some water on her face and go a bit heavier on the makeup to hide that she was crying. Tear tracks would definitely invite questions she didn't want to answer—especially since she didn't want to admit to crying over Henry's book.

It would definitely ruin her tough-as-nails reputation.

* * *

She continued to read Regina's story as the week went on, having to parcel it off in installments given her schedule. The day after reading about Daniel's death, Roni followed her doppelganger as she sought out Rumpelstiltskin to banish her mother. She read about how King Leopold neglected his young wife while showering attention on the young girl who had ruined her life. Frustrated, Regina agreed to let Rumpelstiltskin teach her magic so she could one day get her revenge.

Roni sat cross-legged on her bed as she read about Regina's fall from the balcony and how she was saved by Tinkerbell. "Really?" she asked to the air. "Tinkerbell?"

Tinkerbell (and Roni snorted every time she read that) promised to help Regina find love again, stealing pixie dust and bringing her to a tavern. Inside was the queen's soul mate, a man who bore a lion tattoo. Unfortunately, Rumpelstiltskin had already played mind games with her and convinced her that she was nothing without her anger or her magic. So just as Henry said, Regina chose not to go into the tavern and instead ran away from her soul mate.

Pushing the book away, Roni reached over for her nightstand and opened the drawer. She pulled out the page she had found and stared at the couple frozen moments from kissing. If that wasn't what had happened, why was there another page that showed a different ending? Had Henry considered another version and rejected it for reasons only he knew? Yet he had seemed as baffled as she was about its existence. Or was there another fan of his work besides Lucy? Did they do this drawing and leave it in her storage room in hopes she would give it to him? Why didn't they sign it?

She sighed, placing it back in her drawer. Rubbing her head, she closed the book and decided to grab some aspirin before heading down to the bar. There would be plenty of time to figure out they mystery of the page—and hopefully it wouldn't lead to any more headaches.

Regina gave into her darkness and became the Evil Queen, killing the king and sending Snow White into exile. Lying on her couch, wrapped up in a plaid blanket, Roni read how Regina pursued the princess, who always seemed the manage to be one step ahead of her. She thought she had won when she got Snow to eat the poisoned apple but Prince Charming found her and woke her with True Love's Kiss.

The Queen, though, wasn't done with the couple. Roni returned to the page Henry had showed her earlier, where Regina had crashed Snow White's wedding and promised to destroy her happiness by casting a dark curse. Snow and Charming had tried to find a way to stop her, but they could only come up with a way to save their unborn daughter who was prophesized to break the Queen's curse in twenty-eight years. The only way they found was to send her to the Land Without Magic—the real world—through a magical tree trunk.

"Parents of the year there," she muttered. "Send a baby to a strange world with no one to care for her. Way to go you two."

One other thing that annoyed Roni was what Regina had to sacrifice to cast the curse—her own father. While Prince Henry had been unable to stand up to his wife and protect Regina from her, it was clear that he had loved her and she him. After all, she had to crush the heart of the thing she loved the most—and it was his. While Roni could understand Regina's desire for vengeance, that was taking it one step too far. Because she would've killed to have a father like Henry rather than the deadbeat who had left her mother after her birth because he decided he didn't want to be tied down to a wife and two small daughters anymore. He didn't even try to contact her—not even a birthday card. So she would've treasured such a devoted father and probably would've even given up her quest for revenge once she realized she'd have to sacrifice him.

She was so annoyed by it that when Henry came in that night, she marched over to him and punched his arm. He recoiled, clutching it as he looked at her confused. "What was that for?"

"Killing Regina's father," she said. "He was the only person she had left who truly loved her and she crushed his heart? Really? Why would you do that?"

"She had to sacrifice something," he replied, "and it's a Dark Curse. So the price had to be something shocking, something that would hurt her as well."

Roni scowled, crossing her arms. "But really? You killed him."

He shrugged. "It's how the story goes. Sorry."

"Well, I'd keep a low profile tonight," she warned him. "You're not on my good list right now."

"It's a fictional story," he argued but she held up her hand. She gave him a pointed look before walking away.

Henry heeded her warning and stayed out of her way the rest of her night, giving her time to cool down though she didn't think she'd forgive him just yet.

* * *

Henry had to lay low for almost a week and there were a couple times Roni almost banned him from her bar completely. He had not been kidding when he said Regina went through a lot in the story. It seemed every time happiness was in her grasp, it was always snatched away again. Regina adopted Henry—and Roni tried not to think of the baby boy she had almost adopted but still ended up crying over him in her bathroom—but he ended up rejecting her when a cursed Snow White gave him the book of fairy tales. He realized his mother was the Evil Queen and after discovering she had hid the fact he was adopted, he lost his faith in her. So he ran away to Boston to find his biological mother—Emma Swan, the one who would break Regina's curse.

While Regina did some questionable things to keep Henry and what she thought was her happy ending, Roni admired how much she truly loved her son. She let him go because it was what was best for him and she worked to make herself a better mother and person for him. It was a struggle but Regina pushed on due to the love she felt for her son. Over time, she did become the true hero of the story—just as Henry staid.

She was just as resilient as he said as it became clear to Roni that Regina's bumpy ride was not over yet. Despite being the hero, she never really got what the other heroes got—Snow White had Charming, Emma had Hook and even Rumpelstiltskin had Belle in the end. While Roni didn't think Regina needed to have romantic love to get her happy ending—she had Henry and the people who once used to hate her were slowly becoming her family—it would've been nice. Yet it never worked out in Regina's favor.

Roni was not one for romantic comedies or romance novels but when the Man With the Lion Tattoo re-entered Regina's story, she fell hard for it. She followed along as Regina and Robin Hood spent a year bickering and ignoring the sexual tension between them as the heroes fought Zelena, the Wicked Witch of the West, and she rooted for them once they returned to Storybrooke, cheering when Regina finally kissed Robin in the middle of the woods. He supported her as she fought the half-sister determined to take everything from her, even creating a spell to travel back in time to prevent Regina from existing, and ultimately emerged victorious as she used white magic to defeat Zelena.

The course of True Love, though, definitely didn't run smoothly for Regina and Robin. Roni watched as Emma and Hook brought Marian, dead in the present, back from the past, which forced Robin to choose between his wife and his soul mate. Her heart soared when he ultimately chose Regina but it crashed again only moments later when an ice spell cast on Marian by the now-defeated Snow Queen still threatened the woman's life. The only way to save her was to send her out into the Land Without Magic—and Robin had to go with her along with their young son, Roland. Roni knew it was the right thing for his character but she hated that Regina had to let go of another love.

She liked to believe she would've been okay if that was where their story ended. There was a chance for a reunion down the road and with Regina looking for the author to ask for her happy ending, there was still hope. But in the end, it all went sideways and she had to resist the urge to take her bat to Henry's spine.

"You!" she snarled as she approached him. She pulled his beer bottle from his hands as he sipped it, ignoring his indignant cry. "I can see making Marian Zelena the whole time though it was poorly set up but did you have to make her pregnant as well? Especially since Regina is infertile?"

He at least looked sheepish. "Yeah, that may be a storyline I would change if I could do it over again. At the time, it seemed shocking and another bump for Outlaw Queen to overcome."

"Outlaw Queen?" she asked, confused.

"I gave all my couples code names to remember them by," he explained. "Robin and Regina are Outlaw Queen."

For a moment, she was impressed. Then her anger took over again. "Robin and Regina never really overcame it because they never talked about it! They were off to save Emma from the darkness, then the baby came sooner than expected due to magic, they sent Zelena away, saved Emma and then went to the Underworld to rescue Hook! And Robin spent most of that time away from Regina to protect the baby from Hades! They never had a moment to process all the shit thrown at them and work through it! You say Regina was the hero but you spent a lot more time on Emma and Hook than Robin and Regina!"

Henry looked ready to crawl under the table and now a few patrons were watching them, fascinated. "I know. But sometimes a character or a pairing seizes you and you run with it. Another thing I would change would be to lessen the amount of Captain Swan and focus more on the other pairings."

He then began fidgeting in his chair. "So, you're up to the Underworld?"

"Oh no," she replied with a dangerous grin. "I'm already past Regina splitting herself and trying to destroy her evil half."

"Oh. Shit." The color drained from Henry's face as he visibly swallowed, backing up slowly.

Roni's smile grew more maniacal as she stepped closer to him. I'm not going to hurt you."

"Yes, you are," he replied. "I can see it in your eyes."

She kept her voice even as she said: "I just want to know one thing, Henry. WHY THE FUCK DID YOU KILL ROBIN HOOD?"

Several patrons started to hear Roni yelling at Henry before shooting him sympathetic looks as he tried to hide under the table. Roni grabbed his shirt collar, holding him in place. "Answer the question."

"It seemed like a good plot point to drive the Split Queen narrative," he said. "And it showed how far Regina had come. She didn't turn to her dark side—she tried to destroy it."

"But it was just as much part of her. It made her who she was. Rejecting it rather than embracing it is not the path to her full redemption. And it's a slap in the face to Robin, who loved every part of her—darkness and all. Admit it. There was no reason to kill him at all," Roni snarled.

Henry looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there. "It's how the story played out. I really had no control over that."

"No control…" She stared at him, trying to process what he said. "Didn't you write it? So didn't you control it?"

"It's hard to explain. I don't really feel like I'm making these stories up—it's more like I'm recording things that actually happened," he said.

She raised an eyebrow. "Fairy tales aren't real. That's what we're always telling Lucy."

He sighed. "I know. But…that's my only explanation. Now that you're forcing me to explain my decisions, that's the only thing that feels real. I'm not making it up, I'm not in control. I'm just documenting."

"Fine," she said, releasing him. "Get out of here. You're banned for three days."

"What?" He gaped at her. "You're banning me?"

She nodded. "For three days. Don't make it a week."

He looked at a bunch of patrons near him. "Can she do that?"

"It's my bar," she reminded him, "my rules. So don't come back for three days. Got it?"

"Fine." Henry picked up his jacket and headed toward the door. He paused, looking at her. "Keep reading. Outlaw Queen gets a happy ending…kinda."

And then he was gone, leaving her to ponder what he meant.

* * *

Two days later, Roni sent a text to Henry:

_The Evil Queen getting a happy ending with Robin of Locksley from the Wish Realm does not count as an Outlaw Queen happy ending. Robin should be alive, with Regina and raising his daughter instead of Zelena. You just got your ban extended to a full week._

She slammed her phone down as she glared at the book. Regina was in a good place in it. She had accepted that she needed her darkness to be complete, which made Roni happy, but it still seemed like a pittance that the Evil Queen got to be with Robin of Locksley while Regina was left without her soulmate. At least she had a good relationship with Henry and was rebuilding one with her sister, helping to raise Robin's daughter. However, Roni still couldn't believe that she had willingly let his son go and didn't fight to stay in his life. That wasn't the mother Regina had become. But she had something that appeared to be a happy ending, so Roni figured that was something given how much Regina had struggled.

It was late and she knew she should go to bed, having chosen to finish Regina's story after her shift rather than waiting until the morning. Yet there were too many questions still buzzing around her head and she was too jittery to fall asleep. So she sat at her kitchen table with a cup of tea and the mysterious page that appeared in her storage.

She knew what it was now—an alternate Page 23 that had appeared while Robin was still struggling with his choice between Marian and Regina. He had taken it as a sign that Regina could change her story, telling her that it meant there was hope she could still have a happy ending. She had ripped it up after he had left with Marian but then had gone back, gathering every last piece and taping it back together. It then had sat in a drawer after Robin's death until the Evil Queen had retrieved it, sending Regina a note on it. Regina had then sent it with the Evil Queen when Henry had used his powers as the Author to send her to the Wish Realm to be with Robin of Locksley.

And now it was in her storage room. She pressed her lips together as she wondered if magic was real, if all the fairy tales were real. Was Henry right about not really writing the stories but just documenting what had happened? Could it be possible that she wasn't Roni Jett at all but Regina Mills and something—another curse—had taken her memories?

If so, why did Page 23 appear to her now? Robin Hood was dead and Robin of Locksley was probably married to the Evil Queen, if Henry's stories were all true. And she had a bar she loved, surrounded by good friends. Even if her memories weren't real, she didn't really need any hope. She was in a pretty good place.

Another idea came to her and she smiled, putting the page away before heading to bed.

* * *

When the week was up, Henry returned to Roni's with a cautious look. She gave him a big smile and waved him over, setting out his favorite beer. He looked at it as he took his seat before asking: "I take it I'm forgiven?"

"While I'm still not thrilled with some portions of Regina's story," she said, "yeah, you're forgiven."

He smiled, raising the bottle to her in a toast before taking a sip. "So, ever figure out where that page came from?"

She sighed, placing her hands on the bar. "I have been thinking about that. Page Twenty-Three came to Regina when she needed hope and then to the Evil Queen when she needed the same. But I don't think it came for me this time. I think it's here for you."

Roni reached under the bar and pulled out the page, sliding it across toward him. "It's telling you to have hope about Jacinda. Your story is still being written and you can change it. So you take it."

Henry picked up the page, studying it. He then shook his head, handing it back to her. "Thanks for the pep talk, Roni, but I really think Page Twenty-Three is for you. So you keep it."

"Okay," she said, taking it. "I'll hold onto it until you realize you need it."

She stored it under the bar again as they made some small talk, Henry catching her up on Roger's quest to find Eloise Gardiner. They had enlisted Tilly's help, hoping she might be able to get some information from her contacts on the street. Everything seemed to be heading in a good direction and Roni was happy for them. Henry finished up his beer and bid her goodbye, saying he needed to chase down another lead for Rogers.

Roni was alone for a few minutes, deciding to grab something from the back when she heard her door open again. A male voice with a British accent called out: "Are you open? The sign says you are but…"

"Yes, we are," she called back. "It's just a bit slow when I first open. I'll be right out to help you."

"Take your time," he replied.

When she stepped out, carrying a box of new napkins, her heart stopped. Her new patron was sitting at the bar, watching her with bright blue eyes. Gray flecks covered his temples but the scruff covering his cheeks and chin was just as blond as the thick hair at the very top of his head, a few pieces covering his forehead. He smiled at her, revealing dimples that nearly made her swoon. As she approached him, he crossed his muscled arms on her bar. There on his right wrist was a tattoo—a roaring lion against a black shield.

She thought of the page tucked under her bar and almost laughed. Perhaps it had been meant for her after all. It seemed Robin and Regina's story might not be over after all, if Lucy's theory about Henry's book was right.

Taking a deep breath, Roni leaned against her bar and smiled at him. "Name's Roni. What can I get you?"


End file.
